Strikers and Renegades fight till the last ball

Adelaide Strikers and the Melbourne Renegades at the Gliderol Stadium. It was a game where when one team looked on top the other side came back with strongly. It is the type of game that the WBBL is all about.
The Strikers will have been disappointed with the total that they posted. There were occasions where they looked as if they would ease past 160 from their allotted overs. With Suzie Bates, there is no score beyond her side. When she tucked into Lea Tahuhu her New Zealand team-mate's first over.
At the other end, Molly Strano made sure that things weren't so easy for Tammy Beaumont. Bates was making up for it and allowed the England international to settle.
It looked like it was going to be another day of Bates hitting the ball to the fence with ease, however, she succumbed to a Maitlan Brown full toss that picked out Jess Duffin at mid-wicket for a quick 24.
Tahlia McGrath now joined Beaumont and they put 30 runs on for the second wicket. Beaumont was looking in the form that saw her take the leading run scorer award at this year's ICC World Cup.
McGrath was bowled for 9 by Hayley Jensen. It wasn't to be a problem for the Strikers as Sophie Devine joined Beaumont out in the middle. Again, the Strikers started to get a partnership going. Beaumont was eyeing her fifty When on 45 she gave Duffin her second catch of the match.
When Devine fell next ball hitting Tahuhu to Brown it started to put a dent in the scoring rate as the new batters needed to settle. Megan Schutt was sent up the order when it looked a total of 130 looked about as good as they could get. Schutt's cameo of 20 from just 10 balls took the Strikers up to 140 for 6 from the allocated overs.
It was going to take a good fielding and bowling performance from the Strikers. The pressure was put on the Renegades early on. With a bowler of the quality of Schutt, it means that runs from the other end are important.
McGrath though is a bowler who takes wickets and she did just that; Sophie Molineux had faced four balls for three runs when she tried to hit over extra cover and could only find Bates.
The Renegades would need the experience of Duffin and Chamari Atapattu to fire. They, however, were to fall with the score on 18. Duffin fell to a slower ball from McGrath. In the following over Attapattu could not clear mid-on and Tabatha Saville took her second catch in as many overs.
Amy Satterthwaite the Renegades captain started to rebuild with Emma Inglis and they started to claw the Renegades into the game. The run-rate was starting to increase as the batting side made sure they didn't lose any more wickets.
Satterthwaite started to up the rate as Inglis supported and it looked as if the Renegades were back in it. Inglis knowing she would start having to take risks, Amanda-Jade Wellington was the bowler that was going to they would target. When Inglis was out it was Claire Koski who hit the leg-spinner for two sixes.
If Satterthwaite was there at the end, then the Renegades win. It was not to be for the New Zealander as she was dismissed by her international team-mates as Bates took the catch from Devine. It was an important innings of 56 from just 40 balls and made sure her side were in with a chance of winning.
The run-rate was now to around a run a ball and it went down to the last ball of the game. Tahuhu was on strike with two needed to win and one run for a super over; all Tahuhu could do was chip the ball back to Bates to seal the tightest of victories for the Strikers.
These two sides come back tomorrow for what can only be another tightly fought game.
Melbourne Renegades v Adelaide Strikers
Adelaide Strikers 139 for 6 (Beaumont 45, Jensen 1 for 17)
Melbourne Renegades 138 for 8 (Satterthwaite 56, McGrath 2 for 27)